David Bowie’s Irish guitarist and friend Gerry Leonard has revealed how the legendary singer had a real affinity with the country.

The Dubliner, who moved to New York in 1993 with a guitar, $200 and a promise of a gig, is set to touch down here today to take part in the week-long Dublin Bowie Festival.

He is set to take part in a number of events including a world premiere performance of the Space Oddity album which is being performed alongside the Trinity Orchestra and some of our most famous singers at the National Concert Hall tonight.

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Gerry said he has loads of fond memories with Bowie – who died on January 10, 2016, after a battle with cancer – including playing alongside him on stage at The Point in Dublin in 2003 as part of the singers A Reality Tour.

Speaking to Dublin Live from New York, Gerry said the Starman singer loved playing in Ireland and had a strong bond with the country.

He added: “That was the last major tour David did and I was happy to be his MD and guitar player as part of that.

John's iconic snap of David Bowie

“He had a real affinity for Dublin. He chose Dublin out of a year-long tour as the venue for a DVD which speaks volumes in itself as to how he felt about it.

“The audiences in Dublin are really warm and amazing and he loved playing there.”

And Gerry revealed he was very nervous before the show in Dublin as it was in front of his home audience.

He added: “I was very nervous in the build up to it. I had spent a number of years away developing myself as a guitarist on the New York scene.

“It was my home town, there was a DVD being made, there were a lot of factors.

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“The reception was incredible, you can see it on the DVD when David introduces me and the crowd go wild, it was very emotional for me.

“Being from Dublin it can be a tough room they expect a lot as they should. It was great they liked it, I liked it.”

And Gerry revealed what Bowie was like behind closed doors when not up on stage putting on one of his mesmerising performances. The Clontarf-born musician said: “David was very mischievous and a lot of fun.

“It was one of the things we enjoyed doing, hanging out on tour.

David Bowie at The Waterfront in 1991 (Image: Facebook/Classic Dublin Gigs)

He could make me laugh, I could make him laugh, it goes a long way, it’s part of the Irish psyche I think... to enjoy life that way.

“I do love I was able to go on the road with David as you really got to know him in a nice way. There’s a lot of time spent together, you get into a nice groove. There were a couple of times he asked if I wanted to go to the art gallery which I did and he would take me around and show me his favourite paintings and tell me about them.

“It was like having your own private tour with David as he was so knowledgeable about it all.

“He loved to watch DVDs, comedies like The Office and we would sit down and watch them over a bar of chocolate. It was the simple things we enjoyed.”

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And he said he believes Bowie had so much more to give the music world had he not of died at the age of 69.

Gerry added: “I think he had a lot more to offer. When we did Next Day we ended up doing 12/15 songs including bonus tracks but we had 25 or 30 songs and I’m sure it was the same when he did Black Star.

“He was a very creative person and was always interested in moving on and I think he had a bunch more records in him, projects in him had he not of been taken from us.”

Dublin Bowie Festival

And Gerry said he can’t wait for the Dublin Bowie Festival which runs until Sunday.

He added: “I’m very much looking forward to it.

“It’s become kind of a tradition now, it’s always great to see so many familiar faces and to see the festival grow from strength to strength.

“It’s a really wonderful celebration of David.”

* To find out more about the festival check out www.dublinbowiefestival.ie.